The ethanol mandate has me a little nervous, because I'd rather eat corn than put it in my car. The price of corn is going through the roof as the demands of ethanol production strain supplies. (Ethanol is a biofuel primarily made from corn.)
This will continue if Congress maintains we should vastly increase our usage of ethanol by 2012 to reduce U.S. dependency on foreign oil. This mandate has completely disrupted the natural market for corn - a mainstay of many western diets.
Not only is corn a staple, but it is also a delicious addition to nearly any meal - corn on the cob, cornbread, creamed corn, sweet corn tamales, corn soufflé - why, I'd even go so far as to say corn cookies would be delicious!
This column could probably feature a great corn dish every week. As a matter of fact, my neighbor, Cindi, brought a fabulous spicy corn dish over on Sunday - more on that some other week.
In any case, I just wonder why Congress won't come out with a "beet" or "Brussels sprout" mandate. Those are two vegetables my menus wouldn't miss for a second.
- Cornbread stuffing with dried cranberries, sage and pecans
1 batch of cornbread (recipe below)
4-5 pieces whole wheat or white bread, torn into bite-size pieces
2-3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
½ cup dried cranberries
½ cup pecans, halved and quartered
1 tablespoon fresh sage, minced
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning or dried sage
6 small maple & smoked bacon chicken sausages, or chicken apple sausages, thinly sliced, or cut into small chunks (Aidells are excellent for this recipe)
½ cube butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Make cornbread and when completely cooled, cut into ¾- to one-inch cubes and place on baking sheet. Bake in 250-degree oven for about 14-20 minutes until bread dries out slightly. Place cornbread and whole wheat bread in a large bowl.
In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté onions until translucent. Add sausage, sage, cranberries and pecans pieces and continue to cook over medium heat until nuts are toasted and cranberries begin to darken.
Add butter and heat until just melted. Empty all contents from skillet and add to bread in the bowl. Gently toss and season to taste with salt and pepper. This stuffing can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
When ready to serve, place in a casserole dish and heat in 350-degree oven for approximately 20 minutes. Bread will become crunchy on top. Serve with turkey, prime rib, or pork tenderloin.
- Southwest Cornbread Stuffing
1 batch of cornbread (recipe below)
4-5 pieces whole wheat or white bread, torn into bite-size pieces
2-3 tablespoons canola or olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 teaspoon seeded and finely minced jalapeno pepper (use more if you like it hot)
4 Aidells' roasted red pepper and corn sausages, casings removed and crumbled (available at the Nugget Market in Roseville and some Raley's Markets or e-mail info@aidells.com (available by mail order at www.aidells.com) or call 1-877-AIDELLS.)
½ cube butter
¼ cup fresh cilantro, snipped into bits
Make cornbread and when completely cooled, cut into ¾- to one-inch cubes and place on baking sheet. Bake in 250-degree oven for about 14-20 minutes until bread dries out slightly. Place cornbread and whole wheat bread in a large bowl.
In a large skillet, heat oil and sauté onions until translucent. Add jalapeno and sauté until soft. To this add the crumbled sausage and continue to cook over medium heat, just until sausage browns slightly. Melt butter with all ingredients in pan and pour over bread in bowl. Toss gently. Sprinkle with snipped cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. Reheat in 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until bread becomes slightly crunchy on top, before serving with turkey, tri-tip or chicken.
If you can't find the suggested, sausage try the Habanero - green chile sausage - it will be a bit spicier, but could work well and is usually available at Raley's, too.
- Cornbread recipe
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Mix first six ingredients in a large mixing bowl. In a large glass measuring cup, melt butter in the microwave. Add buttermilk, milk and eggs and whisk until blended. Add to dries and whisk until well-integrated.
Pour into glass 8x8 inch baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until the top of the bread is slightly cracked and golden brown and the edges pull away from the edge of the baking dish.
Susie can be reached at suziven@hughes.net
